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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.